


POV is Everything:  Chloe and Linda

by frnjpn



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Behind the Scenes, Gen, Point of View, Revealing the truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29531535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frnjpn/pseuds/frnjpn
Summary: Now that Chloe Decker knows about the Celestial side of things, Dr. Linda Martin decides it is time to fill Chloe in on everything Lucifer has done over the years to keep Chloe safe- and alive.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Chloe and Linda Meet for Coffee

There is so much Chloe Decker does not know about the Celestial side of things, even though now she thinks she "knows." But prior to her "knowing" she was never truly aware of what Lucifer had done to protect her—and—-even save her life all those years.

Her job as a detective is dangerous. Wasn't she shot at least once in the line of duty, not to mention surviving a car accident and being poisoned? Didn't she survive a blazing restaurant fire without a burn? Isn't it time someone filled her in? Shouldn't she be told how much she owes her life to Lucifer? Who should be the one to gently explain everything to Chloe? Dr Linda? Amenadiel? Maze?

Let's try Dr. Linda.

It is a lovely Los Angeles afternoon, mild and fragrant with blossoms; it could be any time of the year. Is it September? February? May? Who knows? Who cares? It's LA! Seagulls scree overhead and a breeze dances across Linda's bare arms.

Linda, dressed in one of her cute, almost 40's-style dresses with a peplum, is waiting for Chloe at an outdoor table at a fancy LA coffee house. She's managed to get a table in the shade, a quiet corner. She looks anxious. Her eyes light up when Chloe appears from inside the coffee house with a latte (non-fat milk, sugar-free caramel drizzle) in her hand. Chloe, in her usual casual chic, is wearing a loose brown suede jacket with pockets over a white shirt and white skinny jeans. She is wearing characteristic Decker-style ankle boots, this time in the same sienna brown as her jacket. Linda smiles and waves.

Chloe looks around and then spots Linda. She is beaming as she walks across the patio towards Linda. Chloe sets her latte on the table. Linda stands up and they hug —hard and meaningfully— quite possibly the first time they have ever hugged. They have both been through so much together: two mortal women confronted with the reality of Lucifer's true identity, not to mention the other Celestials. They share the shock of having both an Angel and a Demon as dear friends. They pull back from the hug and look each other in the eye—and then burst out laughing.

"Can you believe this is our life?" says Chloe, laughing.

Linda looks at her, sharing the hilarity, laughing.

"I know, right? Five years ago who would've believed that I would become the mother of a half-Angel baby and that you would be in a serious relationship with the Devil himself?"

She lets out a Linda-guffaw. Quite a laugh for such a small woman. Chloe takes a seat with a big smile on her face that quiets down to a thoughtful look.

"It's been quite a journey, hasn't it? When I think about the first time I met you, with Lucifer, in your office—I— I remember being so annoyed with him! He wouldn't stop flirting and making sexual puns and he just couldn't believe that I wasn't being drawn in by his charm," she says, using air quotes.

"As I recall, I actually told him that I was repulsed by him— on a chemical level! Do you remember the look on his face when I said that?"

Chloe busts out laughing and Linda erupts with a shriek of laughter.

"You, on the other hand, were being sucked into his charm like Trixie to chocolate cake!" says Chloe through hoots of laughter.

They continue laughing and looking at each other like the old friends they are.

"Do you realize how ridiculously you behaved, Linda? You were giggling and wiggling—I must remind you—and basically taking Lucifer up on his invitation to go to "pound town" —right in front of me! Ewwww!"

Chloe makes a jokey disgusted face and Linda's face goes slightly red with embarrassment.

"Stop, stop, okay. I know. It was absolutely ridiculous! I honestly could not stop myself! I was powerless in the face of that overwhelming charisma—I guess that's the word—but it's not strong enough to describe what was happening to me."

Linda looks up, thinking, trying to come up with a metaphor to describe Lucifer's tractor-beam pull.

"He, he was like the sun. And me? I was just a moth out of her element with no way to resist his light."

She pauses thoughtfully.

"Like they say, he's the LightBringer…"

Chloe nods knowingly.

"You know what I just realized, Chloe? You never experienced that! You were always immune! Unlike every other woman (and often, man) on earth!"

Chloe rolls her eyes.

"Oh my god, all the times I had to watch women melt away in front of him! It got to be really annoying. I just wanted to punch him—"

Linda interjects,

"—but you know—- he realized right away that you were different. He would always tell me," putting on a British accent,

"…the detective appears to be completely unaffected by me and I've never experienced such a thing before. It vexes me. But it is so very exhilarating! A trip to the unknown!"

Both laugh uproariously at Linda's ridiculous impression of Lucifer, but then slowly Chloe sobers up. After a pause, she says,

"So you knew about the whole 'gift from God' thing long before I did… what did you make of it at the time?"

Linda looks down at her latte and fiddles with a stir-stick.

"Well it was so distressing for him when he learned about it from his mother—somewhat maliciously—I might add. Man, was she a piece of work!"

A shadow passes briefly across Linda's face as she shivers with the memory of being attacked by the Goddess of All Creation.(She realizes Chloe probably doesn't even know why Linda was in the hospital that time.) The realization that she's going to have a lot more to explain to Chloe suddenly hits her. Linda bites her lip with slight worry. But she shakes it off and looks earnestly at Chloe.

"You know, that revelation just played into his fears of being manipulated like a puppet, by his Father. Then when he realized you knew nothing about it, he wanted to protect you by pushing you away. He thought your love and attention were orchestrated by his Father and that you had no control over those feelings for him. In other words —as he put it— 'it wasn't real.' So he was pushing you away right at the time when you were softening up to him and enjoying having him as your partner."

Linda pauses, thinking.

"As I said to Lucifer at the time, 'Maybe she is just taken with you!' I never believed all this 'gift of God' crap from the get-go. I could see that you were acting completely of your own free will, and that indeed, you were taken by him!"

She pauses, then,

"Who isn't?"

Linda blushes, and then laughs self-consciously. Chloe looks at her in amusement, but softens.

"You know, Linda, I am so thankful for all the sessions you had with Lucifer. Even though we both know he is the most narcissistic person in the world—"

Chloe rolls her eyes again and laughs out loud. Linda giggles knowingly.

"—I think that his meetings with you lessened his feelings of being controlled by his Father and pushed him in the direction of self-actualization—just like Amenadiel. Who, I might add, was also positively affected by you."

Chloe gives Linda a big grin.

"By the way, where are Amenadiel and Charlie today?"

Chloe's eyes smile as she thinks about the gentle, giant, Angel Amenadiel with little Charlie. Linda smiles thinking about the love of her life: her baby Charlie.

"Just out for some father-son time. I don't know where they go, what they do—and the beauty of it is that I don't have to know! Or worry! That's one of the benefits of having an Angel as the father of your child!"

Linda laughs, but then stops herself. Her brow darkens a little.

Chloe, concerned, asks,

"Linda?"

"Well I used to think I didn't have to worry… Except for that pesky time when Hell was unleashed on earth and demons ran the streets of LA and kidnapped my baby! Oh my god, never again, please."

Linda looks skyward pleadingly, real anguish crossing her face as she remembers. Chloe closes her eyes, remembering also.

"Wow, I know. That was terrifying! It seems so long ago now, doesn't it?"

Chloe stares into space and says almost monotonously, but hiding deep feeling,

"That was when Lucifer had to— return to Hell. To rule over the demons and the dead." She pauses.

"And I, I—-thought my life was over."

Sharp intake of air. Chloe stops talking and falls into a reverie, then snaps back to the present with a shake of her head.

"So, Linda—-you said you wanted to talk to me about something."

She looks at Linda, her face a question.

"Or tell me something, right? Didn't you say there were some things I needed to know? After the big reveal of the Celestial side of things, I didn't think there could possibly be anything else to know!"

Chloe smiles uncertainly, anxiety creeping over her face, looking keenly at Linda. Linda is suddenly very cheery and says quickly,

"Oh no, no, it's nothing like that. Really. No, no, nothing to worry about."

However the concern on her face belies her words.

"It's just that since you learned so late about his true nature, you were not consciously aware of everything Lucifer was doing behind the scenes for you… and the sacrifices he made to keep you safe…"

Linda pauses.

"…and alive."

With a gulp she says,

"…and I thought you should know," she says finally.

Chloe gives Linda a look of worried surprise.

"Wait—what? Behind the scenes? Sacrifices? What are you talking about? Seriously, Linda, what is this all about?"

Now Linda is a little flustered.

"Okay, okay. Sooooo… do you know how many times he went back to Hell for you?"

Linda looks Chloe square in the face. Chloe looks confused.

"Yeah, well we just mentioned that. When he had to go back to Hell to keep the demons away from earth…"

Linda looks at Chloe with love and concern.

"Yes, right, that time of course. So that would make three times that he went to Hell to protect you."

She looks Chloe straight in the eyes in that firm-Linda-way of telling the truth, but Chloe is clearly shaken.

"Wait, wait, no… I— I… I don't know what you mean…"

Chloe is now starting to look freaked out. Linda steels herself and begins,

"Okay. So of course you remember the Palmetto case, one of the first cases that Lucifer helped you with, because it was an old unresolved case?"

"Ugh, yes. That bastard Malcolm…" Chloe says with quiet disgust. A shadow crosses her face, now so serious. Linda begins, carefully choosing her words.

"Well, you remember that terrible day when Malcolm kidnapped Trixie and took her to an empty hangar/warehouse. He said he wouldn't hurt Trixie as long as you brought him the money that had been confiscated by the police. He insisted you come alone but Lucifer figured out something was wrong and followed you to the hangar…"

"Oh my god, what a terrible day that was," whispers Chloe, a look of anguish crossing her face.

"When I got there, seeing Trixie with Malcolm struck me with absolute terror and I felt so much rage I wanted to scream."

Her voice gets a little shaky and she says the rest in a state of reverie,

"But I had to stay calm for Trixie's sake. So I stooped down and scooted both my guns across the floor to Malcolm. He asked me for the cash and I said no, Malcolm, you have to give me Trixie first, that's the deal. He finally relented and let go of Trixie and she ran into my arms. I took the chance to quickly tell her we were playing a game and that she needed to go hide the best she could.

Chloe's eyes are welling.

"I watched Trixie run off into that damned cavernous warehouse…"

A sob catches in her throat and Linda reaches over and grasps her friend's hand, her eyes also watering as Chloe finishes,

"…my heart ran away with her… but—Malcolm."

Chloe takes a deep breath and her voice hardens,

" 'Where's the cash, Decker?' I popped the trunk so he could get the satchel. But once he had it, he dropped it on the ground and pointed his gun at me. I raised my hands and pleaded,'You don't have to do this, Malcolm.' My world was crashing down around me. Suddenly, of all things, a paper airplane swooped gently out of nowhere, circling and landing at Malcolm's feet. As he bent over to see what it was, I dashed off to hide."

Chloe's face is a mask of terror now, remembering.

"Then I heard Lucifer's voice! My heart sang—-and then sank. I couldn't hear what they were saying but then I heard the terrible blast of Malcolm's gun. I heard Lucifer's gasp and then, horribly, impossibly, I heard a body fall to the ground. I heard Malcolm needling and prodding, that weasely SOB."

Chloe swallows hard.

"Next thing I knew, Malcolm was calling out, 'Oh Decker! Where are you?' I didn't have my gun so all I could do was stay quiet and outsmart him. I don't generally pray—but, man that day— my whole being was crying out to god that Malcolm would find me and not Trixie. That somehow, my smart little monkey would manage to escape this horror. I held my breath and tried to focus on Malcolm's location and movements."

She squeezes her eyes shut.

"Suddenly, I was within sight of my two guns, abandoned on the cement floor. I knew it was a long shot, but I dashed for one of them, grabbed it and whirled around to see Lucifer—on his feet— (how?) punch Malcolm in the face—and then I fired four shots: crack, crack, crack, crack into Malcolm's chest and he crumpled at Lucifer's feet."

Tears are slipping down her cheeks now.

"I called out for Trixie. 'Is it over, Mommy?' I said yes, monkey, it's over, you can come out. And she came running out into my arms. Lucifer suddenly appeared, with not a drop of blood on him, and strolled up to us with an odd look on his face."

Linda looks at Chloe questioningly.

"I was just shocked that he was alive. 'I thought he killed you,' I said. Lucifer laughed it off and said good night… and left."

Two beats of silence pass between the two women. Linda clears her throat, wipes an eye, squeezes Chloe's hand again.

"Malcolm did kill Lucifer."

Chloe is now wide-eyed with wet cheeks. Linda says ever so gently,

"That was the first time he went to Hell for you."  
Chloe,in shock, whispers,

"Wha….?"

Now Linda is serious and says quietly, explaining,

"As you know, Lucifer is vulnerable to injury or death when he is near you, so yes, that gunshot wound to his chest was fatal. But he told me afterwards, in a session, what transpired after."

Looking questioningly at Chloe, Linda asks with her eyes if she should go on. Chloe nods her head urgently.

"As he lay bleeding, and his world was spiraling out of control, he could hear Malcolm stalking you with intent to kill while he himself was incapacitated, impotent to help. You know Lucifer well: imagine his anguish!"

Chloe blanches, closing her eyes and Linda gets an odd look on her face.

"So, believe it or not, he prayed. Yes, he prayed! To his Father. 'Dad… I need a favor,' he pleaded with his last breath."

Chloe is wide-eyed, dubious.

"Yes, he promised his Father that he would be the good son He had always wanted him to be, go anywhere, do anything He wished. But he wanted just one thing in return: 'Please protect Chloe.'"

Stunned, Chloe takes in a deep gulp of air, shaking, her eyes welling over again. Linda continues,

"And then—he told me— he was back in Hell. He was walking the narrow dark corridors with the foot-worn stones, ash floating down over everything. He noticed something amiss and suddenly realized what his Father wanted in return for protecting you, Chloe: someone had escaped from Hell! A gate was open! How was that possible? Lucifer told me he looked more closely and saw a broken chain. Linda again looked Chloe directly in the eye.

"Clearly, that was his task: to track down the person who had escaped from Hell and return them. With that, Lucifer was returned to the living, able to save you and Trixie, and then face, like a man—-or—-Devil, the task his Father had assigned him in exchange for your life, Chloe."

Chloe stands up, tears streaming down her face, looking pleadingly at Linda.

"You—you said three times. He went to Hell for me three times. I count two times now. What—what was the third time?"

Linda stands up and wraps Chloe in a warm hug.

"I'll tell you all about that the next time we meet for coffee… or for something a little stronger."

Linda winks.


	2. Chloe and Linda Meet for Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Linda reveals even more to Chloe

It's 5 pm in the City of Angels when Linda and Chloe meet in the parking lot of an old-school cocktail lounge/steak house on Eagle Rock Blvd. It's been a local watering hole and special occasion venue since the 1950's. In the old days, a couple would pull up to the valet, a clean-cut man in a Don Draper suit would hop out, come around and open the passenger door of the Cadillac. His blonde wife would emerge in a tight satin dress, pearls and, of all things, a mink stole.

Chloe Decker and Dr. Linda Martin are not wearing mink stoles. There's probably not a mink stole left in all of LA. However, due to the venue and time of day, they are decked out more than usual. Instead of her customary chignon, Chloe's golden-tipped hair flows in waves around her shoulders. The luscious emerald green of her short empire dress sets off her hair. Its long bell sleeves reach down almost to the tips of her fingers—a look she wears often. We know what Lucifer would say if he saw her: he would get that stunned look on his face, his heart caught on his sleeve, while uttering almost involuntarily, "You look…beautiful…" Indeed, she looks heaven-sent.

Linda doesn't disappoint either: she wears a knee-length navy-blue fitted suit of raw silk and her characteristic 3 1/2 inch heels. Like she often says: "I'm all of five-foot nuthin'," and she needs those heels just to look Chloe in the collar bone. But no 21st century woman can manage towering heels more confidently than Dr. Linda Martin; in fact part of her authority might be wrapped up in them.

Linda flings her arms open to hug Chloe. They embrace in a tight hug.

"Chloe, oh my god, how are you? You look fabulous! Let me look at that dress!" Linda pulls back and looks at Chloe who laughs, blushes and pushes her hair away from her face. In her Chloe-way, she looks up through her eyelashes even though she still has a good five inches on Linda.

"I'm doing fine. You look gorgeous too, Linda. It's been a minute. What is it, two months, three? Since we met for coffee?"

Linda tilts her head, one strand of platinum hair brushing across her glasses, and ponders.

"You know I think it has been even longer than that! You'll have to tell me all about your latest case. I just saw Lucifer for a session earlier this week." Linda pauses. " He seems like he is doing well…not as angsty as usual."

Chloe looks down, then brightens,

"Let's go inside. I need a drink! Let's get settled in first, order some drinks and appetizers—and then catch up."

They enter the dimly-lit lounge and peer at the curved booths with red pleather seats and small lamps on each table. Even though no one has smoked in the lounge for more than twenty years, there is the faintest musk of tobacco. The host, a twenty-something man in a satin vest and bow tie, walks up to them with an appreciative smile.

"Ladies! Welcome! Is this a special occasion? What'll it be? The lounge, the steakhouse or—-wait—both? Drinks and then dinner?"

Chloe and Linda look at each other and laugh. Linda says to the host,

"All of the above!" She looks at Chloe,

"And could we have a quiet corner booth in the back? We have a lot of catching up to do."

"No problem. Right this way, ladies." He gestures ahead and they follow him between the booths, ending up in a corner booth as requested. Chloe and Linda scoot into the booth, settle in and look around. There is a mirrored wall behind them and flocked red and gold wall paper on the opposite wall. Chloe looks around appreciatively.

"This place is pretty cool. I think Trixie would love it! She likes a Shirley Temple every now and then." She laughs, thinking about Trixie's love of sitting at the bar at Lux, in the afternoon, before opening time. Maze would always make her a "Girly Temple," as she calls the non-alcoholic drink with the maraschino cherry and paper parasol. Of course Maze, "forged in the bowels of hell" (as she often reminds people), has no idea about Shirley Temple or kids' drinks, but Trixie had taught her well.

"So Linda, you used to come here with your ex-husband? The journalist?" Chloe suddenly reddens.

"I'm so sorry, Linda. I know you lost him a couple of years ago…I didn't mean…" Linda waves her hand brushing away Chloe's concern.

"No, no, don't be sorry, I don't mind talking about Reese. It was sad, but I'm over it. So, yes, we used to celebrate all our special occasions here. You know, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's day. We always liked its retro-vibe, the feel of old Hollywood glamour, so I thought you would enjoy this place too."

Linda looks around and waves to a waitress. The waitress comes over and they order vodka martinis—up, with three olives—and a platter of raw vegetables and dip.

"You know, before he got so obsessive about his work, he was a pretty cool guy." Linda continues.

Their drinks arrive and they raise their glasses to girls' night out. Linda laughs and says,

"My god, why do we still call it that? We need a better name! Like…, I don't know, "Dames with Drinks" or…."

Chloe interjects,

"…"Babes and Broads Bonding", or… I don't know!" They both laugh and sip their martinis. Soon Chloe gets a sober, slightly nervous look on her face.

"You know, Linda, I haven't told Lucifer that I know about his first trip back to hell to protect me…not that I don't want him to know that I know, but more that I am still processing it and I would like to hear the rest of what you said you wanted to tell me." She looks at Linda with a wrinkle in her brow, concerned but curious.

"I gathered you hadn't told Lucifer. When we spoke during his sessions in the past few months, he didn't mention it." Concern crosses Linda's face as she looks Chloe in the eyes.

"So, how have you been since then? How is the processing going? Was it too much of a bombshell?"

"No, no, Linda—really, I already had an inkling —some under current of feeling— that Lucifer had been a force behind my well-being ever since I met him. You know him, he can be very self-deprecating—" She stops herself and laughs,

"—for a narcissist!"

Linda joins Chloe in having a hoot over the man they both love but who is so oddly self-centered for someone who takes great care of the people he loves.

"I just didn't want him to worry that it might be too much for me to handle. But I really do want to hear the second part you have to tell me— when you said he went back to hell a second time to save me?" Chloe's voice rises in a question and her blue eyes widen as she looks at Linda.

"Okay, right. I said I would tell you the rest. But I have to warn you, this story is a lot hairier—and scarier— than the previous one, if you can believe that—" Chloe cuts her off,

"Does it have something to do with when I was poisoned?" Linda blanches and looks at Chloe, wide-eyed.

"Everyone said Lucifer had saved me by getting the formula for the antidote, but he always insisted that it had been a 'team effort.'"

Linda swallows hard and says,

"Well….it's true that everyone played an important part because—my god—we all love you so much, Chloe! And you didn't deserve to die for no reason! Your poisoning was a true wake-up call—suddenly understanding how important you are to all of us…" Linda's eyes water as she tries to shake the emotion off.

Chloe asks quietly,

"Who do you mean by 'everyone'?"

"Well… Amenadiel, for instance. Maze, of course—and me." Chloe looks surprised.

"I didn't know you had a hand in saving me!" Linda flushes and waves her hands around,

"Yes, a little, because I'm a doctor." She closes her eyes for a second and thinks to herself, "But not that kind of doctor..."

"And of course Dan! And Ella! They managed to find the final ingredient that was needed to make the antidote. Ella has a brother in LA who is a street racer. That ingredient—which is illegal, by the way— is one that street racers use to boost engine power—and—Ella managed to get it from her brother."

Chloe looks truly shocked, and moved—her eyes beginning to water.

"…and Chloe, I need to tell you about one other person who was crucial in getting Lucifer back from hell—" Linda tilts her head and laughs nervously, "—because apparently, it is a hella lot easier to go to hell than to get back," A Linda guffaw and then a darting glance at Chloe.

"The person who managed to pull Lucifer back out of hell was—" Linda pauses and looks worriedly at Chloe, "—his mother, the Goddess of All Creation—" Then Linda looks skyward and rolls her eyes, " —-who had been running around LA in Charlotte Richards' body…"

Chloe holds up both her hands in a gesture of agitation and confusion,

"Wait—the last time you told me Lucifer ended up in hell because he "died" after Malcolm shot him. His Father brought him back because Lucifer agreed to carry out a task in exchange for my life. So are you telling me Lucifer had to "die" again to go to hell for me? And by the way," Chloe says in frustration, "why did he need go to hell for the formula anyway? None of this makes sense, it's all too crazy—just nuts!"

Chloe is definitely freaking out now.


	3. Chloe Thanks Linda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Linda Helps Chloe Reach Catharsis

Linda reaches across the table and takes Chloe's hands in hers.

"Chloe, generally an Angel can fly down to hell and back on their own. But at that time, Lucifer no longer had his wings. He had had Maze cut them off— twice—I believe, because they had grown back." Linda blinks and then says, mostly to herself,

"Who would ever think I would become such an expert on what Celestials can and cannot do!" She shakes her head.

Chloe is wide-eyed as she remembers trying to help Lucifer recover his wings from that sacred-objects auction. She had felt deeply how much the wings meant to him, although at the time she had no idea that they were real. She just had to accept that they had mattered to him. Linda looks into Chloe's eyes with concern and explains,

"So, you asked why he would have to go to hell to get the formula. Think about it for a minute…. you obviously had contact with that horrifying doctor and his twisted morality, right? Well, guess where he went when he died?" Chloe's face lights up with the answer,

"Hell, of course. But what does that have to do with the formula? Weren't his lab and home thoroughly searched?"

"Yes, of course, but that evil SOB was sly. The list of ingredients for each antidote was found with his assistant—but without the formulas, it was a no go. He never wrote the formulas down."

"He memorized them."

Chloe nods and shakes her head,

"Sounds about right for that psycho…" Linda leans forward and says quietly, being aware of their surroundings as the cocktail lounge is beginning to fill up,

"Back at the penthouse, we had a meeting: Lucifer, Maze, Amenadiel, Lucifer's mom and me. Lucifer said, 'No problem, I'll just pop back to hell, get the formula and Bob's your uncle!… but of course, one of you lovely people is going to have to kill me—and revive me after I retrieve the formula.'"

"That's when everyone turned and looked at me. Lucifer said, 'Linda, you're a doctor!' I was horrified and got extremely nervous at the thought."

"I'm not that kind of doctor! I'm a psychiatrist!" Linda winced, remembering. "I went to Med School a really— really—really looooong time ago…"

"But that laid the ground work for what we had to do. Understand— there was no time to spare. You were dying, Chloe!"

Chloe clasps her hands together to hide their shaking. Linda continues,

"We just jumped into action. As a doctor, I had privileged medical access to the hospital where you were. Maze and I raced there and got ourselves into scrubs. Lucifer had done the groundwork to find an appropriate room close enough to yours so that he would be vulnerable enough to die. He succeeded in finding the room directly below yours." Linda's face shows her awe at their audacity.

"I mean, it was the craziest of plans! Maze and I would hook Lucifer up to a monitor and then we would use the defibrillator with electrodes on his chest to kill him—-a device that is actually meant to revive people, not kill them!" Linda drains the rest of her martini and waves the waitress over.

"Another round, please. Thank you." Linda has a wild look in her eye that shows she is reliving the stress of that day. She continues,

"Amenadiel's job was to guard your room to make sure you weren't moved, otherwise Lucifer could be trapped in hell. Who better to fend off security guards than our dear, hulking Amenadiel?" They both laugh at the image of him in their minds; a true Guardian Angel!

"Long story short, Maze actually chickened out when it came to using the electrodes on Lucifer's chest and I didn't want to kill him because my job was going to be to revive him—when suddenly Lucifer grabbed the two devices himself and plunged them onto his chest with their potent shock—and he was gone! Dead eyes, open mouth, limp body—really dead!" Chloe gasps and her hand involuntarily jerks up to her mouth in horror. She looks shaken to her core, eyes about to brim over. Linda continues,

"We did the countdown. We intended to bring him back after 60 seconds to give ourselves an extra two minute window before the brain would begin to die. We know a minute on earth can represent much longer in hell, so we knew he would have enough time to get the formula. After 60 seconds, I used the defibrillator on his chest to bring him back. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. Maze and I began to panic. Maze realized that he must have gone through one of the doors in hell and that he might be trapped. She said someone had to go down and pull him back out!" Linda wipes some strands of hair away from her forehead, which is now beaded in sweat.

"Maze said she couldn't go because she doesn't have a soul, so she would be dead for good and wouldn't be able to come back. She wouldn't let me go either as she was sure I wouldn't end up in hell. (She doesn't know me well enough to know that hell is a real possibility,)" Linda says under her breath.

"That's when the door burst open and Lucifer's mom appears, 'I'll go get him.' You could have knocked me over with a feather. Needless to say, Maze was delighted to use the defibrillator on her! And then Lucifer's mom was just a limp body too!" Linda takes a deep breath and then a long draft from her martini. She looks up at Chloe.

"Suddenly, Lucifer's eyes popped open and he gasped— he was alive again!" Linda, eyes wide, appears lost in a dream.

"That's the first time I ever saw Maze cry," she says quietly. Linda shakes her head, eyes watering.

"Lucifer lept out of the bed and dashed from the room. His mother woke up and frankly—-everything after that is just a blur to me. Maze and I collapsed in exhaustion, having done our part."

They are both quiet.

Linda brightens and a big smile spreads across her face, bringing back her twinkly personality in full force.

"And…here you are!" Linda exclaims with great joy.

Shock still has a hold of Chloe, hands still shaking, cheeks wet with tears. She sits quietly, looking down at her hands, silent. A minute passes and Linda begins to worry that she has broken her.

Suddenly, Chloe slams her hands down on the table, rattling Linda and causing people in adjoining booths to look up. Then, she half stands up and leans across the table to clutch Linda in a fierce hug.

"Oh my god, oh my god, you, you—all of you, you just…I don't know what to say or do." Chloe takes a deep breath and finally releases Linda from her grip.

"Except. Thank you," She stops a sob, determination on her face. "Thank you—thank you from the bottom of my heart! To have friends like you—and Maze—and Amenadiel—and Dan and Ella—-and to have the love and stubborn determination of Lucifer, it's just…I don't know, it's just mind blowing! I love you all— I love you with all my heart. How can I ever repay you?" Chloe sits down hard in the booth, drained, but a relieved smile gradually begins to spread across her face. She is staring into space, thinking. Then she snaps out of it and says,

"You know what? Now I understand what Lucifer said to me in the hospital when I woke up. It didn't make any sense to me at the time! He smiled at me and said,

'Well… look who's back! You didn't die after all. That makes one of us…'"


End file.
